Bloggintervju – Lynn Viehl

Jag fick möjligheten att bloggintervjua en av mina förebilder, Lynn Viehl – The Paperback Writer, om Livet, Universum och Allting. Eller i alla fall om livet, skrivande och bloggande. Men vad finns det för viktiga saker utanför det? 

I got the opportunity to bloginterview one of my role models, Lynn Viehl – The Paperback Writer, on Life, Universe and Everything. Or at least about life, writing and blogging. But what else important things are there really?

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- Hallo Paperback Writer, how are you today?

Hej, Mackan.  Tack, jag mår bra.  (That is about the sum total of my knowledge of Swedish, too, I’m afraid, unless you want to talk about where the restroom is located or if you accept credit cards.)

- At this virtual coffee-shop, what can I buy you? Coffee, Tea, Beer or something else? And a pastry with that?

I’m a tea drinker, and I’ll never turn down anything made of pastry.

- So, how would you describe yourself as a writer?

I like to entertain people by writing fiction for them.  If one of my stories can take your mind off your troubles for a few hours, I feel I’ve done my job.

- You are known to be a genre-hopper and a very productive writer at that. What have you learned from the different genres you have written in?

After I was published, I was surprised how isolating and restrictive genre can be for fiction writers.  Once published in one genre, writers seem unwilling or even afraid to try writing something else (and publishers don’t help by discouraging them.)  There is also a lot of prejudice between genre writers; most consider their genre to be superior to all others, which causes a lot of useless bickering.  I was amused when a colleague informed me that I wrote in “too many” genres.  I like all sorts of genre fiction; why wouldn’t I write in as many genres as I read?

- Is there any genre that you could never see yourself writing in?

No.  I like to keep my options open.

- So what has writing taught you about life?

No matter who you are or what you do, you should always try to do your best work, teach others what you’ve learned, and be as generous as you can while you’re here.

- …and what has living taught you about writing?

Never to give up on your dreams.  They are the only thing life can’t take away from you.

- Many of your characters are proficient Martial Artists, have you studied any Martial Arts or combat training yourself? Which styles?

I had a variety of training when I served in the U.S. Air Force that included hand-to-hand combat.  I’ve also taken fencing lessons, self-defense classes and studied Tai Chi.

- Do you have any time to read? And if so, what do you read? Any good books lately?

I love to read, and I will pick up any book that appeals to me at the moment whether it’s fiction or nonfiction.  At the moment I’m reading a great deal of nonfiction — “Better” by Dr. Atul Gawande, “Never Cry Wolf” by Farley Mowat, and “An Incomplete Education” by Judy Jones and William Wilson were the last three books I’ve read.  All of them were excellent.

- You have been very generous with advice for new writers on your blog. What are the three top mistakes you see new writers make all the time?

A great many new writers become very attached to the first novel they finish writing, or the first book they write that has great personal meaning for them, and that attachment convinces them that it must be published.  They will stall out their growth as writers while submitting, revising and rewriting this book for years.  However important that “book of your heart” is to you, at some point you have to move on and write the next book because if you don’t, you’ll never improve as a writer.  Also, to be candid, the majority of first books and books-of-the-heart that I’ve critiqued for other writers aren’t written at a professional level, not matter how many times they edit, revise and rewrite it.

Another mistake new writers make (and this is one I’m guilty of, too) is not learning enough about the Publishing industry as a business.  I had never met another writer or had any contact with the Publishing industry before I signed my first contract.  I knew nothing about income, taxes, book production or the demands that would be made on me.  During my first year as a published author I made many, many professional mistakes out of sheer ignorance.  With all of the agents, editors and professional authors blogging on the internet these days, and the many excellent books about Publishing in book stores, there is no reason any new writer should remain ignorant about what it’s like to work in the industry.

The most common mistake I see newly published writers make is that they try to blend in rather than capitalize on their individual strengths.  They join writer organizations, go to conferences, start writing blogs, send out postcards and bookmarks and otherwise imitate whatever the majority of other published authors are doing.  They get lost in the herd, find it does nothing for their sales, or become miserable because they’re not comfortable doing these things.  Every writer is unique, and should seriously think about how to best showcase their work by doing what they love.  For example, I love to write stories to try out ideas, and I always write more stories than I’ll ever sell.  So I’ve used that strength as self-promotion by publishing the stories online in free e-books for my readers.  It’s worked so well for me and my readers that I consider it the most important thing I do professionally besides write books for traditional publication.

- And three advice for writer-bloggers?

Don’t write a weblog because you think you have to — write one because you want to.

Be aware that everyone who comes to your weblog may not necessarily like you or wish you well, and be prepared to deal with them.

However you can, try to contribute something positive to the publishing blogosphere.  We already have enough negative and predatory blogs out here.

- Anything you think I should have asked that I did not?

I can’t think of a thing.  You’ve asked some terrific questions, Mackan.

Thank you so much for your time. You rock. But you probably already knew
that!

So do you.  I really appreciate the opportunity to talk to your readers.